Protect Her

Chapter Thirty Nine

***Trigger Warning: This chapter contains heavy themes of domestic violence. Please take care of yourself and skip if you feel this may be triggering for you. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence of any kind, please reach out to someone in your community. In the US, that number is 1-800-799-7233**

Camryn

As I faded in and out of consciousness in Robby's grasp, all I could think about was Riley. She was still somewhere here in the house, and I knew she was probably terrified. Once he killed me, I had no idea what he would do to her.

I wanted so much more for her. A stable, safe family where she could be happy and free and never worry about how much she was loved. The things she'd already seen were hideous and who knew how much more she would be subjected to? Robby turned into a monster. I once thought he was a good father to her, despite how terrible he was to me. Things had shifted, though, and I knew she was in just as much danger as I was.

Part of me wanted him just to do it. He'd been talking about killing me for so long, part of me wanted it to happen. To stop the pain and the hurt and end this battle, I'd been fighting my entire marriage. But another part of me knew I had to do everything I possibly could to keep her safe. I had to fend him off long enough to get her somewhere else. To get someone here. I had to do something. No matter what happened to me, I couldn't let her meet the same fate.

I tried to sit up, but Robby shoved me back to the floor.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" He hissed. The smell of whiskey on his breath made me nauseous.

The bottle was lying to the side a few feet away from us, and I knew I needed to make a move. I reached my arm out and grasped the neck of the bottle in my palm. Robby was drunk and disoriented enough he didn't notice.

I brought it up, slamming it against his head. He rolled off of me, clutching his head as blood poured out of the wound.

"AH!!!!" He shrieked, writhing on the floor in pain.

I scrambled to my feet and down the hallway towards his parents' room. I knew his dad had a gun case in there and if I could just make it...

Robby was hot on my heals, chasing me down the hallway and screaming at me. I was nearly there when I felt him grab my shoulder, whirling me around and body slamming against the wall. The force splintered the door to an extra bedroom, and Robby and I both fell through it and to the floor.

His fists kept coming, hitting me over and over again as I begged for him to stop. Everything around me was closing in and just when I was sure it was the end, he stopped.

There was a noise downstairs and Robby lurched off of me and disappeared.

I couldn't feel my arms and legs anymore. Everything was absolutely numb, and I was fading fast. I was so weak from the blood loss and injuries at this point, there wasn't much more I could do. I closed my eyes, sucking in one sharp breath.

"Mommy," Riley appeared over me. Was I actually seeing her or was ai hallucinating? Her little hand was on my cheek.

"Ry..." I whispered, reaching out for her.

"Mommy, it's okay. Derek is coming." She said, kissing my cheek softly. "He's going to be here soon. He's going to save you."

Now I was sure I was hallucinating. I was pretty sure Derek was dead himself, and even if he wasn't, there was no way he knew where we were. "I love you, sweetie." I said, my throat tightening.

"Mommy!" Riley's voice got louder. "Mommy, wake up! Mommy!"

Derek

I didn't even remember the drive, so hyper focused on what I was about to walk in to. I had no idea who was here, or who knew what was going on. All I knew was that I needed to find Camryn and Riley. At this point, I didn't even know if they were alive. My call with Riley had been chilling and no matter how many times I tried to call her back, it hadn't worked.